Sean Penn's Latest Destination—Libya?!

Actor visits North African country for the first time to focus his humanitarian efforts on the post-Gadhafi era

After waving an Egyptian flag in Cairo's Tahrir Square Friday, Sean Penn has continued west on his humanitarian tour of North Africa. The actor made a stop in Tripoli, Libya, where he spoke to reporters about the state of the country post-Moammar Gadhafi.

So what did the star have to say?

Penn refused to talk about what his exact plans were in the Libyan capital when he chatted with the press outside his hotel, but he did praise the country's citizens for their efforts in ousting the dictator, saying he admired "the courage to say 'we want freedom.'"

"It's an extraordinary thing," he gushed, adding that he was confident Libya could truly become a democracy.

"An enormous price has been paid, but I think there is no question that they can follow it through," he said.

Last week the 51-year-old star was in Cairo, where he was invited by Egyptian-born actor Khaled el-Nabawi to participate in a rally demanding that military rulers speed up the transfer of power to civilians after an 18-day revolt caused the ouster of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in February. Citizens are worried the power will go to Mubarak supporters.

"The world is inspired by the call for freedom by the courageous revolution of Egypt," Penn told Al-Ahram newspaper.